Trapped!

Trapped! is the beginning of Rage's initiative to adapt a sound that might remain more relevant against the 'challenges' to traditional metal that arose throughout the early 90s. That sounds silly in hindsight, to be sure, because we all know that heavy metal fucking rules, always will, doesn't truly age, and has arguably the most loyal fanbase of any genre of music produced on Earth. But certainly there was an attempt by the Germans to bring back a little of the thrash roots, enhance their 80s aesthetics with a tiny fraction of groove, and create a more down-to-earth style which relied slightly less on the shrieking and speed, but still kept a lot of the flair and finesse which, let's face it, the Wagner, Schmidt, Efthimiadis lineup was never going to be shake off since they'd spent those fertile years mastering it. Now, having said all that, Trapped! is still fairly close to the records leading up to it, like Reflections of a Shadow. There is no material here which needs to adapt the grunge, rapcore, metalcore or nu metal trends that Peavy was happily shrugging off, but it clearly sets the blueprint for popular albums of their second decade like The Missing Link and Black in Mind while maintaining the vocal range and musicianship of its predecessors.

While I was not quite as enamored with this as the five (or six) previous albums, there is no question that this was still a Rage firing on 110% and loaded with ideas for riffs and choruses. Andreas Marschall crafted one of the best cover images in their entire catalog, with some spidery demon queen ensnaring the Soundchaser in her multi-limbed clutches, and the production is quite good. Maybe you're getting a little less of the reverb and airiness (other than Manni's lead licks), and a mix that is more straight to the face while still capturing a lot of the details mustered by this highly proficient three-piece. While Peavy is not screaming by default as he was on some earlier albums, his voice is still capable here and he can almost effortlessly lay those out among his raving, wildman midrange on tracks like "Medicine" and "Solitary Man". The drumming is excellent, with a bit more of a hammering double bass attack, and Schmidt is just as much a monster on this album as those before it. I didn't find the riffing as catchy on a 1:1 basis with earlier Rage, but the arsenal is still full and you're getting a lot of choppy little melodies strung in among almost all the harder hitting progressions, and there is also plenty of variation throughout, even to justify all thirteen tracks; you were still gonna hear something relatively new on each.

Trapped! actually ages quite well, and in truth I probably rate this more highly now than I did back in the day, because it's well-enough written, consistent, and managed to keep the band relevant against the changing heavy music landscape without abandoning its principles. The musicianship is as top notch as this lineup ever produced, and while some dread the 'mature' tag, this album is clearly more seasoned than the screaming excesses of Perfect Man or Secrets in a Weird World. That's not to say that I'd often choose this one over those to spin in the car, but it's another strong vertebra in the spine of a band that really should have become one of the biggest in the entire genre...I mean compare their career to mega groups like Metallica or Megadeth that wound up taking huge dumps on their audience, and Rage looks a lot stronger overall even if their highlights aren't always as infallible as a Master of Puppets or Rust in Peace. The 18-year-old version of me might not have held much reverence for this record, but the middle-aged me thinks it certainly stayed the course, and its detail-woven anthems offer lots of thrills that would be anathema to other heavy, power and thrash metal acts of the time, some of which were dumbing down their sounds to fit that 90s zeitgeist. Plus, the "Fast as a Shark" cover was pretty smokin' and they did it before a lot of others.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Rage were a completely unknown entity by the early-90’s, at least in Bulgaria, and then all of a sudden everyone was talking about them; so I naturally had to check them out, and here it was, ”Trapped”, their latest album, readily available in every music shop around the country. Totally fascinated by it, I tracked down the band’s earlier discography, and was quite surprised to find that they had whole five(!) full-lengths released in the 80’s, and another one, plus an EP, under the name Avenger. A prolific band, if not the most prolific one of the mid-80s’ “offspring”, who were more than well equipped to enter the new decade with vigour and enthusiasm to spare as evident from the album reviewed here.

“Trapped” is the epitome of classic power/speed metal captured in its purest form, devoid of the lyrical pathos brought to “The Keeper of the Seven Keys I” by Michael Kiske’s emotional high-strung vocals and Kai Hansen’s incessant guitar pyrotechnics; immune to the urgent proto-thrashy gallops of Attacker’s “Second Coming”; and unfazed by the infernal shreds of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton on “Painkiller”. It was also the band’s first genuine power/speed metal recording provided that the first three instalments were heftily thrash-peppered, and the last two acquired a more complex, progressive form. Nothing of the kind here, this is metal at its most infectious, memorable and spontaneous that many contemporary practitioners are trying to capture without much success. Every single track is a milestone in the genre; there are hardly twenty other albums out there that can offer a similar, amazingly homogenous collection of rousing, instantly memorized hymns.

Even the slightly cheesy naivety that can be detected right at the start of “Shame on You”, with the playful radio-friendly rhythms incorporated, sounds just perfect on this uplifting roller-coaster. Peavy Wagner has never been the most gifted performer behind the mike, but his charmingly high-strung clean vocals have never been an obstacle, and are one of the most easily recognizable on the field. The speed metal fiesta from their earlier days “besieges” the listener for a trio of tracks which, among the vast array of brisk dynamic crescendos, provide three of the greatest choruses to ever grace the power/speed metal roster. “Questions” will answer all the “questions” you may have related to power metal lore, here served in its most shining lustre, a more controlled, not as dynamic piece which naturally takes the fan “to the water”, and more particularly to “Take Me to the Water”, an epic masterpiece, the only reminder of the last two opuses’ more progressive infatuations, but what a glorious one...

Once the most officiant composition is out of the way, there’s nothing left to do but start the speed metal fury once again, and “Power & Greed” provides exactly that, a headbanging respite for all hot-headed fans. The body will inevitably get tired after the mosh, and this is when one will stop to listen to “The Body Talks”, a power metal anthem with atmospheric semi-balladic additives the latter handsomely developed on the following “Not Forever”, a grandiose ballad, one of the few numbers that embrace the more hard-hitting side of that style so arrestingly outside the Scorpions and the Twisted Sister output (did someone say, “Metallica?”). No metalhead no cry, and the band are quick to dissipate the poignant atmosphere with the next in line energetic speedster, “Beyond the Wall of Sleep”; no Lovecraftian monsters here, just the good old speed metal banging the head for just above 4-min. The actual nightmares are yet to come, though, with “Baby I’m Your Nightmare”, an interesting diverse cut with elusive progressive overtones and a rousing chorus with Wagner showing his skills in the higher registers to a nearly glass-shattering effect. The veterans Accept are honoured afterwards with a great cover of their speed metal pioneer “Fast as a Shark”, but this is not the end, like many would have expected, as the band beg to differ serving one more song, “Difference”, another grand example of the guys’ compositional genius combining melody (check the gorgeous balladic, lead-driven intro) and more aggressive strokes on top of the umpteenth supremely catchy chorus.

The band were simply “trapped” in their own greatness here; a new decade had started, and they wanted to play a major role on the scene, and they were looking to release the strongest statement of intent imaginable in order to make the audience pay attention. And the latter did pay attention cause there was no way one would have forgotten this superb compilation of vintage old school anthems once exposed to it. At least in their homeland the music situation remained relatively unaltered with the power/speed metal movement in full bloom advertised far’n wide by acts like Iron Saviour, Primal Fear, Brainstorm, etc. for whom the Rage team were a prime model; and also a very apt leader, if you like, since they never abandoned their winning formula producing a string of fairly strong albums through the-90’s, including their more orchestral variations, until the experimental “Ghosts” which was still a cool, albeit a subdued and a more retrospective affair.

The new millennium saw the guys carrying on unperturbed with Wagner regularly changing his partners in order to ensure his “raging child”’s smooth ride which clocked on the 22nd instalment in 2016. The most prolific metal band of all times; you bet! One of the greatest? By a long shot. A constantly reliable supplier of time-proven remedies for the sick metal heads, especially after a heavy drinking session… goes without saying be it by “chasing sounds” or “speaking of the dead”…

I don’t think I need another medicine except this “trapped” one here; I’ll stick with it like I’ve been doing for the past 25 years… and I’ve been in perfect health, I should tell you. I’ve heard some sages say that if you take it regularly for the magical period of 30 years, immortality could be attained… to be continued till the end of time.

After peaking early (and spectacularly, mind) with Perfect Man, Rage found themselves treading some degree of water, reaching an arguably all-time low with Reflections of a Shadow. The sprightly speed/power influences earlier siphoned in from the years as Avenger began to diffuse under the disconcerting haze of commercial leanings. Even the stronger cuts from this period like "Invisible Horizons" sounded somewhat off kilter, in spite of Peavey realizing his potential as a singer. Coming into their own as a touring act just as the scene began to wither helped sober these Germans early on, and once said demons were rightfully exorcised by the clear fact that Reflections of a Shadow was an inferior product, back to the drawing board they went. Despite displaying the soundchaser enveloped in some sort of hive/web on its cover, Trapped! hardly gives us a permutation of Rage limited by any sense of preconceived notion.

A varied, exuberant and downright fun record, this one ushers in the '90s like only Rage can, welding singalong choruses with a scrumptious palette of Teutonic speed/power metal riffage. While perfection might still have eluded the trio this time around, a stellar refinement of Perfect Man's modus operandi (with a twist) is exactly what we get here, as abstract as that may sound. Many early gems call this album home, not limited to the fat, swerving rhythms of "Questions" and the immense melodic surge of "Enough Is Enough." Live staples for sure, but there is also some great experimentation and an underlying sense of ambition flowing throughout the frankly epic tributaries of "Take Me to the Water." It might fail to evoke the primal innocence of the band's earliest material, but as a purified compound comprised of the best elements of heavy, power and speed metal, Trapped! is much more than just a huge improvement over what came directly before it.

Manni roils across the hellish mental images painted by Andreas Marschall's evocative cover art, bursting at the seams with fluid, resonant rhythm work and boomerang hooks that keep coming back for more. Just like on The Missing Link, there is a definite radio appeal to many of these songs, but not in a trite way like on some of the earlier records. "Enough Is Enough" is of course a standout in this regard, but the exotic acoustic tones that open the two-faced "Baby, I'm Your Nightmare" deserve praise as well. It might be lacking in the atmosphere and distilled ichor of Black in Mind, but said record definitely owes Trapped! a fair measure of gratitude for wiping the slate clean and setting the scene for Rage to excel in the mid '90s. The ice-cold punishment dealt in spades throughout the gallivanting guitar lines of heavier fare like "Beyond the Wall of Sleep" and the spot-fucking-on transposition of the Accept classic "Fast as a Shark" evoke some sense of balance that honestly wasn't even really needed. In any event, Trapped! excels on both fronts, and Peavey brings the house down with his characteristic ability to toe the line between gruff and ear-piercingly melodic with a predilection for bursts of snarling mayhem. While he has definitely learned to control his upper register over time, there is an unhinged quality present here that dissipated over time.

If there is one Rage effort to check out pre-The Missing Link, it is a toss-up between Trapped! and Perfect Man. If you are a fan of the debut, Execution Guaranteed and the band's speed metal disposition, Perfect Man edges this out. Conversely, I adore this record for the number of classics contained within, and "Baby, I'm Your Nightmare" is an early tease at the orchestral slant the band would embrace a few years later. Peavey's distinctive vocal delivery is still going to turn many a listener off, but you would be doing yourself a disservice to write this band off based on their spotty output during the late '80s. Accessible to a wider range of listener than your typical estranged mosher, Trapped! steadily lobs the listener a number of unforgettable tunes, helmed by Manni's wild licks and the carefree stylistic attitude I cherish in this band. Thank God this lineup recently reunited under the Refuge moniker, let's hope for a return to these glory days!

I was always a Rage fan, right from the start. Actually, even before the start, when they were still called Avenger and released the excellent ‘Prayers of Steel’ album in 1984. That was a great start and ‘Reign of Fear’ took it to the next level, an album which still gets listened to a lot in my household. I always thought that Rage kinda took a strange turn after that album, first with ‘Execution Guaranteed’ and then the overtly catchy ‘Perfect Man’. ‘Secrets in a Weird World’ seemed to restore the band to some sort of order, albeit in a much more mature vein, and this phase was carried on into the follow up ‘Reflections of a Shadow’.

By the time 1992 came around Rage were in the doldrums a bit, what with the metal market having been decimated by the whole grunge thing, but to their credit they stuck to their guns. The result was ‘Trapped’, another slight stylistic shift and a move away from the slightly commercial ‘Reflections…’. Not to suggest that ‘Trapped’ was a thrashing return to the roots or anything like that, but it did seem to up the ante on the double bass drumming a bit and while the balladic moments remained they became more focused and less clunky.

I have to say that when this album came out I really loved it, but over time it seems to have lost it’s sparkle a bit. This is something that can be said of most of the Rage catalogue actually, with the exception of ‘Reign of Fear’. I don’t know why this should be particularly, some albums just age better than others I guess.

Listening to it again I still think it’s a good album, it’s just that the standout track is the cover of Accept’s immense ‘Fast as a Shark’. I mean, what were they thinking. Why would you put a song that good on your album? I mean kudos for a decent version and all, but that’s just a crazy thing to do. If you were in a band would you put a cover of ‘Raining Blood’ on your album? Even if it was a very good cover? Cos that’s about as bad. The problem is it just sets the bar so high for the rest of the album that it kills it. I’m guessing that’s why they put it right at the end, but even that can’t save it.

It’s sad to dis an album that I used to really like from a band I still like, in all it’s mutations, and I don’t want to give people the wrong impression. This is still a good album, but it’s not a great album, and it’s not a patch of ‘Reign of Fear’ or even the impressive ‘Black in Mind’ album that would follow two years and another line-up change hence.

Rage is one of those bands that has been around since the beginning of the German speed metal craze, but didn’t get the same level of attention that Helloween and Running Wild received. While the latter two evolved into something much more epic and hook oriented, Rage mostly stuck to the older style of aggression before melody, particularly in the vocal department. For those people who are really into bands like Iron Savior and Paragon and who are a bit baffled at the radically different vocal approach they have compared to Halford influenced singers like Kai Hansen and Ralf Scheepers, Peter Wagner is where they get most of their influence from.

Of all the early German speed metal outfits, Rage is the closest to the punk rock-like tendencies of the thrash scene. Their sound is raw, and the riffs they often utilize share common traits with early Anthrax and, to an extent, Kreator as well. They are still more in line with the power metal genre due to the melodic nature of their choruses and the occasional keyboard employment. One particular track on here “Baby I’m you Nightmare” is a classic example of why, listening heavily like those spooky blackened power/NWOBHM influenced metal gone evil acts like Mercyful Fate and Venom.

As a whole, “Trapped” is one of those albums that came out in 1992 that ignored the changes going on in the thrash metal scene with the advent of Metallica’s “Black Album” and Pantera’s “Vulgar Display of Power”. There is not a single trace of groove metal anywhere on this album, just the same classic speed metal with the occasional slower melodic riff monster that they’ve been known for since their inception. Peter Wagner is actually something of an interesting take on a frontman, playing his bass with the proficiency of Steve Harris and also singing all of those wicked melodies.

The standouts on here are many, so a few specific examples of each stylistic device at work is in order. “Enough is enough” is probably the most melodically memorable, featuring a quasi-punk sounding chorus melody which has been re-organized into several variations by other bands of late. “Take me to the water” has a very unique verse line doubled by one of the guitar riffs, it moves almost as fast as those rapidly muttered verses heard on thrash albums, but changes pitch on almost every single syllable, which makes it somewhat harder still to follow. “Beyond the Wall of Sleep” is another classic speed metal track with a chorus that sounds like it inspired a few Gamma Ray and Freedom Call songs. The cover of Accept’s “Fast as a Shark” is extremely well done and about twice as aggressive as the original, which may mostly owe to the advances in guitar distortion and recording technology over 10 years. It also underscores how even the early speed metal fathers like Wagner got their sound from someone older still.

As far as speed metal goes, this is probably the best thing you would have heard out of Germany in 1992, save Running Wild’s “Pile of Skulls”. I’d say it’s probably the most underrated of Rage’s albums. If you get the reissue, which is probably the easier to find now, there is additional material that actually turns this album into an even longer listen, actually almost occupying 80 minutes worth of space on a single CD. Even the original is a bit long for a speed metal album, but surprisingly it stays fresh and interesting the whole way through, which is more than I can say for many other metal albums in 1992 that saw increases in play length.